I work for a nonprofit, and we’re hosting our annual fundraising event. This year, we’ve decided to go with a live performance for the first time. What do I need to know about booking a performer? I’ve never done this before, so any advice would be appreciated.
Booking a performer isn’t as complicated as it seems. You definitely need to follow the proper stages of negotiation and pay attention to the details, but after you’ve done it once, you’ll feel more confident the next time your organization books a performer.
The absolute most important thing you need to know is to get the right artist for your event. Nothing will turn your organization off to booking performers more than a flop that doesn’t go over with your contributors. Also, you need to choose someone who makes sense financially—that your organization benefits from the performance.
Here are my basic tips for choosing the right person. Take a look at your venue. You aren’t likely to get a superstar performing at a very small venue unless you have a huge budget. The venue should fit the performer. Also, determine which artists may benefit from your event—good negotiations are all about mutual benefit. So, if your artist is involved in your cause already, that’s a good sign. Many philanthropic celebrities will donate their performance fee back to the organization (of course you should not expect or request this).
Someone who never does charity events will be harder to get a contract with and will likely be more expensive. But you may have good luck with a performer who is trying to break into a particular niche that your donors fit into.
The next best thing you can do is find the right starting place for negotiations. Know your budget, and get a good idea of what the artist goes for. You can make an estimate by multiplying a previous performance’s ticket price by the number of seats in the venue, but this is just a very general estimate. You can also simply ask the rep what the artist’s fee is—but be careful not to counter too low if you go this route. From there, keep in mind that you’ll need room in your budget for technical equipment, props, technical personnel, sound and lighting engineers, security, food and accommodations for the celebrity and their entourage, etc.
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